The present invention relates generally to electrical boxes for receiving and holding wiring devices, and particularly to a box having an improved fire stop and conductor retaining device, along with a means for securing the wiring device in a box in an expeditious manner.
Anyone working with electrical boxes commonly employed in dwellings and other types of building structures is familiar with the problem of reaching into the rear of the box after a wiring device has been electrically connected to conductors entering the box to secure fire stops to the rear wall of the box, which also secures the conductors in the box. (A wiring device is, for example, a simple on-off switch or the common duplex female receptacle.) The wiring device and the conductors located in the box obscure the rear of the box and the fire stop. The electrician or other user of the box must reach into the box with a screwdriver and locate the head of a threaded fastener to thread the same into the box to secure the fire stop and conductor retaining member in and to the rear of the box.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,109 to Nattel shows a fire stop and conductor securing member in the form of a one-piece slide (clamp 34) that enters the front of the box and two integral slots formed adjacent the corners of the box. When the slide is fully inserted into the box, a tab 82 engages a stop 86 to fix the slide in the box. Thereafter, the slide is not easily removable from the box, and in order to remove a conductor secured by the slide, a screwdriver must be inserted in the rear of the box to release the conductor; this is shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings of the patent.
Another U.S. Pat. issued to Nattel showing a planar cable securing member is U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,999. In this disclosure, a flat member 50 is secured in the box by fold over tabs 46 and 48 which fix the member in the box. Again, in order to remove a conductor held by member 50, a screwdriver must be inserted into the box and engage an angled edge of the member to move it away from the conductor, see FIG. 7 of the patent.